Research Overview
UM Department of Surgery Continues to Lead Through Surgical Innovation
University of Maryland’s Department of Surgery faculty are actively involved in more than 60 research projects and clinical trials to develop novel therapies for their patients. This research is funded by numerous individuals, private corporations, foundations and federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense and spans all of the Department’s divisions.
Watch Grateful Patient, Judi Azevedo Sgambato's Story:
Dr. Jonathan Bromberg, Professor of Surgery, is the Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Surgery. He is a Kidney Transplant surgeon. His research includes basic cellular and molecular transplant immunology focusing on T cell immunobiology, issues of migration, trafficking, secondary lymphoid organ structure and function, lymphatic structure and function and how these processes and structures influence T cell immunity and T cell tolerance in models of cardiac transplantation and pancreatic islet transplantation.
Research at the Center for Vascular and Inflammatory Diseases, under the direction of Dudley K. Strickland Ph.D., Professor of Surgery, focuses on integrating molecular and cell biology with applied and clinical sciences specifically in the areas of biochemistry, vascular biology, immunology, cancer biology, hematopoiesis, stem cell biology and cardiology. Inflammation is emerging as a key contributor to many vascular diseases and further, plays a major role in autoimmune diseases, arthritis, allergic reactions, and cancer.
Our surgeon-scientists are dedicated to the treatment of acute and chronic end stage lung disease which currently accounts for 125,000 deaths per year in the United States. Dr. Bartley Griffith’s team is developing the first wearable, biocompatible artificial pump-lung device, which will serve as a bridge to transplant or healing through other therapies.
The challenges of organ transplantation are also being studied by Dr. John LaMattina’s team within the Division of Transplant Surgery, who are exploring the use of donated human livers, deemed unsuitable for transplantation, as scaffolds on which to engraft healthy cells. The decellularized scaffold provides a suitable matrix to promote the growth and differentiation of these liver cells into a bioartificial organ suitable for transplantation.
Dr. Bartley Griffith and Dr. Muhammad M. Mohiuddin are co-directors of the Cardiac Xenotransplantation Program.
Dr. Rolf Barth’s research program includes vascularized composite allotransplantation. This ground-breaking approach allows the replacement of skin, muscle and bone tissues to restore both form and function to massive injuries resulting from burns or trauma. In 2012, a team of University of Maryland surgeons performed a high-profile face transplant which included the engraftment of multiple types of tissues. The success of this surgery is the culmination of laboratory research efforts sponsored by the Department of Defense.
Dr. Jian-Ying Wang’s research program has been continuously funded by multiple NIH grants and VA Merit-Review grants for more than 20 years. Dr. Wang's current work is highly focused on the regulation of gut epithelial renewal and barrier function. Dr. Wang's research projects are directly relevant to patients with trauma, hemorrhage, and massive surgical operations.
Dr. Sunjay Kaushal, M.D., Ph.D., is leading research to address hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a life-threatening congenital heart condition in newborn babies. If left untreated, HLHS is usually fatal in the first weeks of life. Currently there is no cure for this devastating condition ; but, by way of two new clinical trials, Dr. Kaushal, the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital, and its team are preparing to take a major step to improve – and possibly save – the lives of our tiniest patients. Click here for more information
To learn more about surgical research activity, please contact Jocelyn Klucar, Director, Research Administrator at 410-706-8155 or jlklucar@som.umaryland.edu.